Jim Thiebaud #6.

Wonderful ollie.

Thrasher - March 1991 Volume 11 Number 3

Tommy Guerrero #8.

Hands off the Dakotas.

For a street skater, Tommy has had a ton of ramp photos over the years. All the pics look great so it doesn't really matter a whole lot. He's also usually doing some type of frontside air or trick.

I'm probably going to do another week of early Real somewhat shortly. There's a couple of ads that haven't been on here yet.

Thrasher - February 1991 Volume 11 Number 2

Henry Sanchez #5.

Your favorite pro's favorite pro, especially if your favorite pro is over forty years old.

I find it interesting that everybody always rattles off the same old names for their favorites. It's totally warranted because most of the time the choices are completely valid, but I am always a fan of the more obscure and the not so obvious picks. Give a shout out to the guy who had two short parts in wheel videos set to songs you like better instead of going by the already agreed upon classics.

Henry was the first new pro on Real, but he soon left for Blind. This marks the initial appearance of the AC/DC inspired logo.

Emerica's Green video is amazing. It's a well done effort showcasing Dakota Servold and Jon Dickson with a No Age soundtracked montage of the rest of the team.

Thrasher - January 1991 Volume 11 Number 1

Tommy Guerrero & Jim Thiebaud #2.

Cup of coffee.

This is the second ad for Real. Tommy had been on Powell Peralta and Jim had been on Santa Monica Airlines before they decided to try their hand at running a company. Real reused the ad layout with Keith Hufnagel and Ben Liversedge a few years later. Both the skate photos are great. Tommy is grabbing some air on a ramp by a corn field and Jim is doing a nose bonk with the help of a security guard.

Thrasher - December 1990 Volume 10 Number 12

Real.

The first one.

Real was started in the second half of 1990 by Tommy Guerrero and Jim Thiebaud. It was backed by Deluxe, who at the time were making Thunder Trucks and Spitfire Wheels. They were also making bushings and hardware, but those were more minor projects. The initial riders were Tony Henry, Henry Sanchez, Salman Agah, and Rob "Sluggo" Boyce. I assume a few other guys were getting Real boards and I know I forgot a couple heads, too. The company has been a steady force in skateboarding for the last 30 years and has always stayed relevant, even with the fickle nature of skateboarders. Cheers to many more years.

Thrasher - November 1990 Volume 10 Number 11

Eric Koston #10.

Eric took his love of basketball to skateboard footwear design. An alternate version of this ad ran in Slap promoting the Koston One in a new colorway. It's interesting, but not terribly surprising, that twenty years ago Girl and éS were the pinnacle of skateboarding sponsorships and only the best guys rode for them. Nowadays the internet's favorite pastime is hating on Crailtap and everybody just wears Nike. Things change over time, maybe not always for the best.

Atiba Jefferson was photographer.

Transworld - March 2001 Volume 19 Number 3

Rick McCrank #7.

O Canada.

Crankers was on a serious handrail wrecking spree during the Menikmati era of skateboarding. He was also putting down some ridiculous crooked grinds and ledge tech.

The photo is by Jody Morris.

Transworld - January 2001 Volume 19 Number 1